JC Penney, Plano, TX, reported yesterday that comparable department store sales increased 0.7 percent in the five weeks ended Sept. 27 as catalog/Internet sales rose 12.9 percent.
Internet sales increased more than 60 percent in the month.
The company's preliminary sales summary said that catalog/Internet sales totaled $245 million compared with $217 million in the five weeks ended Sept. 28, 2002. Total company sales in the period were up 1.3 percent from $2.83 billion last year to $2.87 billion.
Other companies reporting results yesterday, include:
· The Spiegel Group, Downers Grove, IL, posted net sales of $145.3 million for the five weeks ended Sept. 27, down 21 percent from the five weeks ended Sept. 28, 2002. Comparable-store sales for its Eddie Bauer division rose 7 percent. The Group's net sales from retail and outlet stores fell 10 percent. This was due to store closings, but was partially offset by the gain in Eddie Bauer's comparable-store sales. The company has reduced its store base 18 percent, operating 468 stores at the end of September 2003 compared with 574 at the end of September 2002. Direct net sales (catalog and e-commerce) for the Group fell 30 percent.
· Federated Department Stores, Cincinnati, reported total sales of $1.35 billion in the five weeks ended Oct. 4, up 3 percent from the same period last year. On a same-store basis, September sales rose 3.2 percent.
· Sharper Image Corp., San Francisco, said that last month's total company sales climbed to $39.2 million from $31.3 million last year while total store sales rose 22 percent to $21.5 million from $17.7 million in the prior September. Comparable-store sales increased 8 percent. Total catalog sales climbed to $12.1 million from last September's $9.8 million. Internet sales jumped 44 percent to $5.6 million from last September's $3.9 million.
· The Talbots Inc., Hingham, MA, said sales in the five weeks ended Oct. 4 increased 3 percent to $182.5 million versus the five weeks ended Oct. 5, 2002. Comparable-store sales rose 0.6 percent.
· JoS. A. Bank Clothiers Inc., Hampstead, MD, said that total sales for the fiscal month ended Oct. 4 jumped 28.8 percent to a record $27.7 million, compared with $21.5 million in fiscal September 2002. Comparable-store sales increased 13 percent as combined catalog and Internet sales skyrocketed 30.3 percent versus the prior-year month.
· United Retail Group Inc., Rochelle Park, NJ, said total sales reached $34.3 million in September compared with $38.1 million in September 2002. Comparable-store sales fell 8 percent for the month.
· Sears, Roebuck and Co., Hoffman Estates, IL, said its comparable domestic store revenue rose 3.2 percent in the five weeks ended Oct. 4 as total domestic store revenue totaled $2.5 billion for the five-week period in September, up 3.5 percent versus the five weeks ended Oct. 5, 2002. Domestic store revenue and comparable-store revenue for the fiscal period ended Oct. 4 totaled $2.45 billion compared with the period ended Oct. 5, 2002, when the total was $2.37 billion.
· Abercrombie & Fitch, New Albany, OH, posted net sales of $149.6 million for the five weeks ended Oct. 4, up 16 percent from last year's September sales of $129.3 million. September comparable-store sales fell 1 percent compared with the five weeks ended Oct. 5, 2002.
· Chico's FAS Inc., Fort Myers, FL, said September sales in the five weeks ended Oct. 4 skyrocketed 57.9 percent to $86 million from $54.5 million in the prior year's five-week period ended Oct. 5, 2002. Comparable-store sales for company-owned stores increased 22.2 percent in the five weeks ended Oct. 4.
· Limited Brands, Columbus, OH, posted a comparable-store sales increase of 8 percent in the five weeks ended Oct. 4 compared with the five weeks ended Oct. 5, 2002. Net sales totaled $714.4 million, up from $642.5 million last year.
· The Bombay Company Inc., Fort Worth, TX, said Wednesday that same-store sales for stores open more than one year increased 17 percent in the five weeks ended Oct. 4. Total revenue jumped 22 percent to $53.2 million from $43.6 million in the five weeks ended Oct. 5, 2002.
